Scarburg Meadhall

[Lhunardawen]

"That your father has spoken his will. He prefers Thornden to me. You will, of course, obey your father's will?"

The question stung, not only by its own words but also with the tone of finality with which Harreld said it. It was as though he had already made the decision for her, for both of them. Ginna looked deeply into the smith''s eyes. "Is that what you would have me do, Harreld?"

He could not hold back his pent up feelings. "It is not my choice!" She winced at the ferocity in his tone. He regretted it immediately. He sighed, took a deep breath, and spoke again in more measured tones. "Your father is your lord. It is his will that we do not marry. What more is there to say?"

"That you have not read my father's letter closely enough," she said, ignoring the single tear that had fallen down her cheek in response to Harreld's outburst. "It is not his will, merely his wish. The time for my father to impose his will on me has long passed."

Harreld stared at her, dumbfounded. He recalled the words from the letter as she spoke them, and she was right, Randvér had said 'wish', not 'will'. But any Eorling knew that the words meant the same when fathers had sons and daughters to marry off. Or was this some new way of courting brought from some foreign land like the Holbytlan Shire?

He did not know how to proceed, and fumbled through his thought until he landed on the question that seemed suddenly so obvious.

"Do you not want your father's blessing?

Ginna smiled sadly. "I used to think it did not matter. But when he met you, I had hoped we would gain his blessing... When he saw for himself how I have changed because of you."

In her mind she was brought back to a late afternoon under a tree not far from the smithy, when her father had first met Harreld. She recalled how Randvér had accused her of leading him on and how he had defended her and given her courage. Bolstered by this memory, she walked slowly towards Harreld and gently took his large hands into her own.

"We can change his mind, Harreld. We have accomplished a lot of things together, you and I. You will not abandon me now, will you?"